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# Gunshot entry wound

- Finding

An entry wound is usually small and round, with inverted edges and an abrasion ring; depending on range, it may show stippling or soot.

Updated Nov 5, 2026

## Key points

- Small hole, inverted edges, abrasion ring and bullet wipe.
- Concentric abrasion ring = perpendicular shot; eccentric = oblique shot (wider on the side the bullet came from).
- Skull: bevelling of the inner table at the entry; of the outer table at the exit.
- Hard contact over bone: stellate wound (Hoffmann's "mine mouth" sign); muzzle imprint (Puppe-Werkgaertner sign).
- Benassi sign: a ring of soot on the outer table of the bone beneath a contact entry wound.

On this page

- The basics Key points
- What it is
- How to tell it apart
- How to recognise it
- How it forms
- Entry versus exit wound (typical pattern; there are exceptions) · Sources: StatPearls, Gunshot Wounds Forensic Pathology (NBK556119); review PMC12791185
- Next step: what to do and document
- Common mistakes
- Elsewhere in DurgiPedia

- Study Test yourself

- Connections Connections

## What it is

The entry wound is where the projectile goes through the skin. Its constant features come from the projectile itself: a small, round or oval hole with inverted edges, surrounded by the abrasion ring (anillo de contusión, a rim scraped by the projectile) and the bullet wipe (anillo de enjugamiento, where the projectile wipes soot and grease from the barrel onto the skin). The range-dependent features (burning, soot, stippling) come from the discharge residues and help estimate how far away the weapon was. On the skull, an entry wound bevels the inner table.

## How to tell it apart

- Versus the exit wound: an exit is usually larger, irregular, with everted edges and no abrasion ring.
- Exceptions: a shored exit (skin pressed against a firm surface) can show an abraded rim and look like an entry.
- A projectile that first went through an object (glass, door, another body) can make an atypical, large, irregular entry.
- The size of the hole does not reliably give the calibre.

## How to recognise it

- A round or oval hole, smaller than the projectile because of skin elasticity, with inverted edges.
- Abrasion ring: a reddish rim without epidermis around the hole.
- Bullet wipe: a dark inner rim of grease and soot from the barrel; may be absent if clothing was in the way.
- Depending on range: burning and singed hair, soot (washes off) and stippling or tattooing (does not wash off).

## How it forms

- The projectile pushes and inverts the skin before perforating it and scrapes it in a ring.
- As it passes, it leaves on the edges the grease and soot it carries from the barrel.
- Gases, flame, soot and powder grains leave the muzzle with the projectile and reach the skin only at short range.
- In hard contact, the gases go under the skin and tear it, especially over bone.

## Entry versus exit wound (typical pattern; there are exceptions) · Sources: StatPearls, Gunshot Wounds Forensic Pathology (NBK556119); review PMC12791185

| Feature | Entry | Exit |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Size and shape | Small, round or oval | Often larger, irregular, stellate or slit-like |
| Edges | Inverted | Everted |
| Abrasion ring and bullet wipe | Present (may be missing with clothing in the way) | Absent, except in a shored exit |
| Discharge residues (soot, stippling) | Possible at short range | Absent |
| Bevelling in flat bone (skull) | Inner-table bevelling | Outer-table bevelling |
| Material carried | Clothing fibres into the track | Bone fragments or tissue outwards |

## Next step: what to do and document

- Treat the emergency; if possible, photograph each wound with a scale before debriding, and do not extend or suture it without documenting it.
- Describe each wound separately without calling it "entry" or "exit" if you are unsure: shape, size, edges, rings and residues, with its distance from anatomical landmarks (for example, from the heel and the midline).
- Do not wash the area before documenting soot: it wipes off and is lost.
- Keep the clothing without cutting through the holes and every projectile or fragment removed (handle it without toothed metal forceps), with chain of custody.
- Under Law 906 of 2004 (art. 255), health staff are responsible for collecting, preserving and handing over physical evidence; start the reporting pathway.
- Official text checked on 2026-11-05 at funcionpublica.gov.co.

## Common mistakes

- Labelling "entry" and "exit" in the emergency room from wound size alone.
- Washing the skin or discarding clothing before documenting discharge residues.
- Marking the projectile with toothed forceps or losing it among surgical waste.
- Assuming a wound without residues is distant: clothing may have caught them.

## Test yourself

Think of the answer, then tap the question to see it.

## What is the abrasion ring of an entry wound?

A reddish rim without epidermis around the hole, made by the projectile scraping the skin as it inverts and perforates it.

## What does an eccentric abrasion ring indicate?

An oblique shot: the ring is wider on the side the projectile came from.

## Where is the bevelling on the skull at an entry wound?

On the inner table: the hole is smaller outside and wider inside; at an exit the bevelling is on the outer table.

## What is the Benassi sign?

A ring of soot on the outer table of the bone beneath a contact gunshot entry wound.

## Why can a wound with an abraded rim be an exit?

Because if the skin was pressed against a firm surface (shored exit), the rim is abraded as the projectile leaves.

[Add to my cards (5)](https://durgical.app/estudiar/?add=/en/forensic-medicine/gunshot-entry-wound/)

## Elsewhere in DurgiPedia

- [Mandatory reporting: public health, violence and abuse](https://durgical.com/en/medical-ethics/mandatory-reporting-public-health-violence-and-abuse/)

## Connections

## Related 4

- [Gunshot exit wound and telling it from the entry](https://durgical.com/en/forensic-medicine/gunshot-exit-wound-and-telling-it-from-the-entry/)
- [Range of fire: contact, close and distant shots](https://durgical.com/en/forensic-medicine/range-of-fire-contact-close-and-distant-shots/)
- [Chain of custody (cadena de custodia) in the hospital or rural post](https://durgical.com/en/forensic-medicine/chain-of-custody-in-the-hospital-or-rural-post/)
- [Classifying mechanical injuries](https://durgical.com/en/forensic-medicine/classifying-mechanical-injuries/)

## Related conditions 2

- [Penetrating trauma (stab and gunshot wounds)](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/penetrating-trauma/)
- [Major trauma (polytrauma): ATLS primary survey](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/major-trauma-atls-primary-survey/)

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Educational content on forensic and legal medicine; not legal advice and no substitute for the technical guides of Colombia's National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences. Laws change: each page links the official text and says when it was last checked. For a real case, follow the guide in force and ask the competent authority.

Sources: [Gunshot Wounds Forensic Pathology (StatPearls)](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK556119/) (NCBI Bookshelf, StatPearls Publishing, 2023); [Gunshot Wound Patterns: A Narrative Review From a Forensic Medical Perspective](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12791185/) (Cureus (PMC), 2026); [Heridas atípicas producidas por proyectil de arma de fuego: reporte de caso](https://www.scielo.sa.cr/pdf/mlcr/v39n2/2215-5287-mlcr-39-02-17.pdf) (Revista Medicina Legal de Costa Rica (SciELO), 2022); [Suicidio mediante el uso de un arma de fuego, con presencia de doble signo de Hoffmann: reporte de un caso](https://www.scielo.sa.cr/pdf/mlcr/v38n2/2215-5287-mlcr-38-02-25.pdf) (Revista Medicina Legal de Costa Rica (SciELO), 2021); [Ley 906 de 2004, Código de Procedimiento Penal](https://www.funcionpublica.gov.co/eva/gestornormativo/norma.php?i=14787) (Función Pública, Gestor Normativo, 2004).

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License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Cite as: DurgiPedia (durgical.com), https://durgical.com/en/forensic-medicine/gunshot-entry-wound/